Moving into the 2025 season, there are a few head coaches who are on the hot seat. On July 24, FOX Sports came up with a list of those 10 coaches who got the most to prove. In that list, LSU Tigers’ head coach Brian Kelly found himself ranked No.8. Turns out that the clock’s ticking for Kelly, who, even after having a talented quarterback like Garrett Nussmeier, could not punch the playoff ticket. Do you remember what George Wrighster said?
“LSU, this is a make-or-break year for Brian Kelly because he told us, ‘Judge me after three years into the program.’ After he dropped that fake Louisiana accent, but the reality is this is year four,” said the analyst. However, does that mean it has broken Kelly’s morale? No way. He is now busy making dauntless comments like he claimed for Clemson’s Memorial Stadium. And obviously, it did not sit well with Dabo Swinney’s fam.
LSU and Kelly hit the road to face Clemson and Swinney in prime time in one of college football’s opening weekend’s marquee matchups. Their face-off is scheduled on August 30, inside Clemson’s Memorial Stadium. Before that, Kelly thought of stirring the pot a little. The LSU head coach jokingly said at SEC Media Days earlier this month that they were letting Clemson borrow the name. “You want great habits when they’re needed, when you’re on the road and you’re playing at ‘Death Valley Junior.’ Not the Death Valley,” said Kelly. And obviously, Clemson would not allow the insult to pass away like that. Here came Clemson EDGE TJ Parker’s sharp comeback. On July 24, the College Football IG page quoted Parker, “They can have their opinion. We’re gonna handle all that on August 30…”
The EDGE then dished out a stern warning in Kelly’s way, “At the end of the day, we can do all the talking, we still got to play. So, we gonna see, you know what I’m saying? They’re hyping up everybody across the board, all these transfers they got — we’ll see.” So, it’s obvious that the upcoming Battle of Death Valley is going to be a pure cinema. As found on Clemson’s official website, in 1948, Lonnie McMillian, the head coach of Presbyterian College, made the comment to the press that he was taking his team to play Clemson in “Death Valley.” But the name took off like wildfire after head coach Frank Howard started using it in the 1950s. On the other hand, Kelly’s Tiger Stadium, over the years, gained popularity, living up to its name, Death Valley.
The venue is indeed intimidating and has been called one of the most dreaded road playing sites in all of college football. But Clemson is not going to borrow the name to create an atmosphere of fear. They have got their players to do that. And after Parker’s stand to protect the team’s honor, here came Cade Klubnik.
Cade Klubnik handles Brian Kelly’s jab with calm confidence.
Clemson would not have paid much attention to what Kelly said had the LSU head coach been standing on firm ground. He is standing on quicksand. Almost every one who has held the Tigers’ head coaching seat has won a national championship. The trend was started by GOAT Nick Saban in 2003. Later on, Kelly’s predecessors, Les Miles and Ed Orgeron, caught up with the trend in 2007 and 2019. But for the LSU head coach, he is still waiting for his luck to change. It was time for Klubnik to break his silence.
Turns out that Swinney’s quarterback is in no mood to waste time thinking over what Kelly said. During a Rotary Club event in Baton Rouge, Klubnik did not spend many words when he was asked to comment on Kelly’s “Death Valley Junior” jab. At the ACC Football Kickoff in Charlotte, he said, “I got no comment. I got no comment. We’ll… yeah, no comment.” Turns out that Klubnik inherited this calmness from Swinney. At the same event, the Clemson head coach was approached for his reaction after Kelly’s jab. Swinney believes it’s just the LSU head coach’s way to get themselves pumped up.
“There’s always fuel for the fire, You can take whatever you want, everybody’s different, and they can be motivated by different things along the way,” came Swinney’s Dabo Swinney’s sarcastic reply. But looks like all this fuel is not going to be of any use in the long run for Kelly. As ESPN’s Heather Dinich predicted on Get Up, “Clemson will beat LSU in the season opener and be a serious contender for the national title. I say that because Clemson is loaded. They return 80% of their production from last year, more than any team in the FBS.” Klubnik has shown signs of improvement this offseason, focusing on bolstering himself. Now, will Kelly have to eat back his words?
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